I was given a Paramax P-509 audio system as a gift. I know it’s junk, it’s a version of the “white van speaker sale” scam. But, I didn’t pay for them, so I’d like to know: how do they sound, quality-wise? How much is a comparable set? All the sites that refer to the speakers as being part of a scam say they aren’t worth $50. Is that true?
Why not just hook them up to see what they sound like?
Because they are still new in the box, and even if they are worth only $50, I want to get the full $50 value out of them for being new and unopened. 
I think most audio types are going to know not to buy them, so it will be hard to find reviews. They probably don’t have a defined market value. They must be worth something if they’re at least a functioning 5.1 set though; they should be usable for computer games or something. I don’t think opening the box will hurt the value much, especially since they’re made by scammers who probably don’t give warranty support. I would just open them up and listen.
If you list them on Craigslist your ad may get taken down because people watch for white van speakers. You would probably have to mention what they are.
Here is the website for the system
Interestingly for set of speakers with so many purchasers there are almost no reviews of the sound or performance, only people telling war stories of how they got scammed. It would be interesting to see some audio review of them. You can re-gift them, but I would not count on reselling them for much. Might make a nice setup for a kid or young adult who is not picky audio wise. Warcraft gamers might like them for surround sound.
Speaker placement is, nearly, everything. Some of the sweetest speakers I heard were crappy Radio Shack cubes hung in macrame slings in the perfect point (she macramed, he was an engineer). Move them around. I have a couple sets of really cheap speakers slung around my head when I’m in bed that sound great, even at very low volumes.
ETA: But I dasn’t move my head from the sweet spot. By a fraction of an inch.
If they are anything like the white van speakers I’ve heard they are worth maybe $10 for the pair as a set of cheap end tables or stage props.
Trying to use them as speakers is pointless. They sound like a couple of clock radio speakers only 20x larger.
Be careful hooking them up to anything you really value. Sometimes they have been known to fry boards due to low impediance. I am not sure how that works, but I am sure that there is something on Wiki about it. They fried my brother’s tape deck in his camero once.